Yesterday I cut a design into a cutting board and noticed that the design was shifted 1/8 to right and 1/8 higher on the cutting board. I’m unsure what is causing this issue. I cut a similar design on Tuesday with the X axis not giving any issue.
I have noticed that when the machine goes to set the bit on the BitSetter is goes about an 1/8th inch further than in should when it sets the bit. Closer to me in this case, opposite of the problem I ran into cutting the cutting board. Also one of the wheels feel loose on that connects the X axis gantry to the Y Axis gantry, could this be part of my issue?
Still learning and trying to understand the machine, thanks in advance.
Check the machine mechanically (pulley set screws, belt tension, eccentric nut/V wheel adjustment) and verify that all wiring and connectors are in good condition and secure.
Best check is power up, connect to the machine, go to Settings | Debug and then jog to the center of movement for each axis, installing a probing pin along the way if that is an option, then grab the tip of the pin (or the shaft of the spindle) and try to shift things in all directions — it should be rock steady, if not, investigate and address.
I always advocate for calibrating for belt tension (once one has it set well), but that shouldn’t be necessary for most folks:
The v-wheels located at the bottom of the gantry and bottom of Z are very important. If yours are loose it is easy to fix. To test if they are loose simply go to each side of the gantry and lift and wiggle it. Same for the Z. If it is loose then you need to adjust the v-wheels.
To adjust the v-wheels you need a wrench (older ones are smaller newer ones are 10MM) and the allen wrench to fit the bolt. Slightly loosen the bolt and with the wrench adjust the eccentric nut until the v-wheel feels snug. You do not need to tighten it so much you deform the wheel. Snug is enough. Hold the wrench in place as you tighten the allen bolt. If you do not the torque of tightening the bolt will change the eccentric and you loosen/tighten the eccentric. So hold the wrench in place as you tighten the allen bolt. There are 6 of the v-wheels that adjust. There are v-wheels at the top but they are not adjustable. Only the bottom ones are adjustable.
After adjusting you want to clean the little v’s that the v-wheels ride on. I use a 3m finishing pad. A good stiff nylon brush would also work. Just dont use anything abrassive like sand paper. If required a little bit of mineral spirits may be needed if the debris is really stuck.
While checking your v-wheels it would be a good idea to check your belt pulleys set screws. Each drive pulley has 2 allen set screws. One of them should be on the flat of the stepper motor shaft. Those are very small screws so do not over torque them. Many people put a mark across the end of the pulley and stepper motor shaft so they have a quick visual clue if one of the pulleys are loose.